ABSTRACT:The effect of waste paper on biogas production from the co-digestion of fixed amount of cow dung and water hyacinth was studied at room temperature in five batch reactor for over 60 days. Waste paper addition was varied for a fixed amount of cow dung and water hyacinth until maximum biogas production was achieved. Biogas production was measured indirectly by water displacement method. The production of biogas showed a parabolic relationship as the amount of waste paper (g) increased with a goodness of fit of 0.982. Maximum biogas volume of 1.11liters was observed at a waste paper amount of 17.5g which corresponded to 10.0% total solids of the biomass in 250ml solution. Thus, an optimum waste paper amount of 17.5g needs to combine with 5g of cow dung and 5g of water hyacinth in 250ml of water for maximum biogas production. Similar equivalents in kilograms and tonnes can be utilized in large-scale production of biogas which can provide decentralized source of fuel for university laboratories and also local supply of energy for electricity production. Also, the air pollution problems associated with open burning of waste papers can be eliminated. The biogas process has established to be cheap and practically feasible. @ JASEM The anaerobic digestion of organic materials has long been used to generate useful resources, which have been harnessed for the use of mankind. Biogas, which is one of the byproducts of anaerobic digestion, comprises about 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide. It has been used as a source of fuel in countries like India, China, Sweden, Bangladesh etc. for lighting and cooking purposes. In addition co-digestion of organic waste with sludge or cow dung has been mentioned in the works of Anhuradha et al (2007) and Godliving (2007) with improvements in biogas production. Apart from biogas, useful soil conditioner and manure have been obtained from the slurry residual after anaerobic digestion. Organic sources of biogas generation abound in the environment and these are well documented in literature. Works of authors like Jain et al (1981), Dunlop (1978) and Jash and Basu (1999) have studied biogas generation from animal and agricultural wastes. Biogas, being a renewable source of energy has the potential of supplementing other available energy sources in a bid to encouraging the principles of sustainable development, and reduces the practice of total dependence on fossil oil that are finite. This research work explores a suitable way to use organic waste in the environment -cow dung, which constitutes a serious problem in abattoirs, served as useful raw material for this research, because it contains the necessary micro-organism (acid formers and the methane formers) for biogas production. Waste paper at dumpsites from administrative offices, educational institutions etc, was another raw material. Finally, water hyacinth, which is rich in nitrogen and other essential nutrients (Mark and Ken, 2006) usually responsible for clogging water ways, affecting navigation, fishing and recreational ...
